Thursday, March 25, 2010

Raw Food Meets Fried Food

My buddy JohnP once told me that he had his dehydrator and deep fryer going at the same time one night ... and it made him think of me. It's funny because it's true. I love me some fried foods, but I also enjoy eating raw meals made from fresh, organic, wholesome veggies. It's all about balance.

Don't they look a lot like fried vegetables? They're actually raw mushrooms, zucchini, and red bell pepper coated in olive oil, nutritional yeast, and spices and then dehydrated for about 12 hours. Click here for Lindsey's recipe. Super tasty, and way more guilt-free than real fried veggies.

I served the veggies with a warm bowl of Lentil Soup and Rustic Multiseed Wheat Bread:

My friend Greg made the soup a few days ago, and I'm not sure what he put in it. But it's delicious. It has a smoky flavor (maybe he used Liquid Smoke) and it's peppered with veggies, like carrots, peas, and okra.

The bread was part of a loaf I baked a few weeks ago from Vegetarian Times. I sliced it up and froze each piece individually. Anytime I bake bread, I slice the whole loaf and freeze it immediately, so I always have fresh-baked bread on hand.

21 comments:

Interesting! I have never tried dehydrated foods (other than dried fruit) so I have no idea what the texture would be like, but I am keen to try this. Not that I think it would replace fried food, but still.

Dehydrators look like so much fun!LOL Bianca, you're the PERFECT example of a helthy person with a healthy attitude, because your diet is 90% healthy but you know how to enjoy your fave foods too :).Love you!

ooooh, wow! i love the idea of the raw "fried" veggies. that's too neat. i need to try something this - i haven't used my dehydrator in a few week and it's feeling a little neglected. those veggies realy do look like they've been deep fried. mmmmmmm!

the multiseed bread you made looks perfect, and a smoky lentil soup = delicious! sounds like your friend knows how to make some tasty eats!

Biana, I really think we are vegan soul mates or something. I LOVE raw foods and eat them often, but I also adore all things fried and make sure I get to eat it frequently! I can't believe those veggies aren't fried, they look amazing! So crisp and crunchy!

I do the same thing with bread, even store bought. We always keep the whole loaf in the freezer, whenever we want a fresh slice, we just pop it in the toaster for a minute and it is soft and warm and totally delicious.

I wanted to come comment again on this one and let you know that I made these veggies last week in my new dehydrator. What a yummy recipe for my first experience dehydrating at home! Thanks again for pointing me in the direction of this one.

I should also say thank you for a posting about the Spark Wellness Cleanse in late 2009, I followed your link and checked it out. I decided to participate, and that was in January, and I have been dairy-free ever since. If you had not posted that link then I would not have participated, and I probably wouldn't be vegan today. Anyway, thought you might like to know that you are partially responsible :)